Eagles Lose A Shootout
Posted: December 24th, 2022 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 20 Comments »Dallas won. An Eagles victory would have been great. Minshew Mania, top seed in the NFC and winning the NFC East would have made for a heck of a Christmas present. Instead, the evil empire won and there will be no joy in Mudville.
Normally I would be really ticked off after the Eagles blew a game and lost to the Cowboys. I’m okay with this. It occurred to me how much had to happen for Dallas to win the game.
- 4 turnovers
- Dak Prescott starting 16 for 18
- Allowing a conversion on 3rd and 30
- Dallas getting a penalty on 4th and 8 to give them a 1st down
- Injury to Avonte Maddox
- Injury to Lane Johnson
- Eagles failing to recover a fumble
- Dak not going down on a sack play and being able to complete a key pass
This is not a winning formula that you can count on.
The Eagles backup QB led his offense to 27 points and 442 points against a top tier defense. The Cowboys didn’t sack Gardner Minshew once. The gamebook doesn’t even credit them with a QB hit. If you’re a Dallas fan, you’ve got to be really worried about the defense.
Give Dak Prescott credit for turning 4 Eagles turnovers into 20 points. That really is the difference in the game.
The Eagles can be proud of the way the offense played. They never had to punt. That’s crazy when you had the backup QB in the game. DeVonta Smith (8-113-2) and AJ Brown (6-103) were magnificent. Smith was especially great, making some tough catches. This is one game where the box score only tells part of the story. Minshew doesn’t post big numbers (24-40-355) without incredible catches by the WRs and Dallas Goedert.
The defense had 6 sacks and a takeaway.
Josh Sweat with first INT of his career. 42 yards for the TD!
Wow 10-0 Eagles
— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) December 24, 2022
The Eagles limited CeeDee Lamb in the 2nd half and got tougher on 3rd downs. Too often, Dallas made plays and got the best of the Eagles D. One of the big problems is that Maddox got hurt early on. Dallas puts Lamb in the slot and feeds him the ball. That was going to be a tough matchup for Maddox, but it was way too much for Josiah Scott.
The low point of the game came when the Eagles had a couple of sacks and put Dallas in 3rd and 30. Dak dropped back and threw a deep ball to the left side. TY Hilton made the catch after Scott was late getting over. That might be the angriest I’ve been all season. They got 52 yards on the play. You can give up 10 or 20, but not 30 and certainly not 52. That play would eat me alive if I was on the defensive coaching staff. That’s nightmare fuel.
The Eagles built 10-point leads in both the 1st and 2nd half. They couldn’t build on either one of them, with turnovers being the big problem. Minshew threw a pair of INTs. There were fumbles by Boston Scott and Miles Sanders as well. Killer plays.
The biggest concern for the Eagles is the status of Lane Johnson, Jordan Davis and Maddox. Johnson went to the locker room in the 2nd half. Maddox hurt his foot/toe and was in a walking boot after the game. That’s not good. Davis likely suffered a concussion. Johnson is the key.
Lane Johnson just walked out of the locker room. He’s moving around on his own power. He’s wearing a wrap around his waist/groin area.
— Josh Tolentino (@JCTSports) December 25, 2022
Keep your fingers crossed that he’s okay. Jack Driscoll has been a good backup RT, but you want Johnson ready heading into the playoffs.
The Eagles are now 13-2. They have lost a pair of wild games to division rivals. The common denominator…turnovers. When the Eagles protect the ball, they don’t lose. Nick Sirianni will work on the issues that led to the turnovers.
Go enjoy your holiday. Let Dallas celebrate this win. I don’t think it bodes well for them. Just can’t count on so many things going your way.
If the Eagles go beat the Saints next week, this game will quickly become a distant memory.
Merry Christmas.
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